Shh, don't tell your boss! Really?!? Because everyone knows the best way to get ahead in Washington is to keep your boss out of the loop. Let me press on:

Senior staffers on the House Judiciary Committee helped Donald Trump's top aides draft the executive order curbing immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations, but the Republican committee chairman and party leadership were not informed, according to multiple sources involved in the process.

The news of their involvement helps unlock the mystery of whether the White House consulted Capitol Hill about the executive order, one of many questions raised in the days after it was unveiled on Friday. It confirms that the small group of staffers were among the only people on Capitol Hill who knew of the looming controversial policy.

This reeks of "implausible deniability". Would we really be reading this "Who, me?" coverage if the roll-out had been a success? We'll never know!

Kathryn Rexrode, the House Judiciary Committee’s communications director, declined to comment about the aides’ work. A Judiciary Committee aide said Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) was not "consulted by the administration on the executive order."

No, they consulted Goodlatte's aides so he could stay at arms-length in what he thought were the early discussions. And BTW, since Starbucks is hiring Goodlatte has a secure future, yes?

"Like other congressional committees, some staff of the House Judiciary Committee were permitted to offer their policy expertise to the Trump transition team about immigration law," a House Judiciary Committee aide said in a statement. "However, the Trump Administration is responsible for the final policy decisions contained in the executive order and its subsequent roll-out and implementation.”

So we knew our guys and gals were working on it but we weren't involved. Fine, whatever.

The work of the committee aides began during the transition period after the election and before Donald Trump was sworn in. The staffers signed nondisclosure agreements, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Trump's transition operation forced its staff to sign these agreements, but it would be unusual to extend that requirement to congressional employees. Rexrode declined to comment on the nondisclosure pacts.

"Declined to comment" because there was no good way to transcribe her muffled laughter. What would have been in the House non-disclosure agreement - "If you tip your boss off on the down-low we'll see you in court". Sure, that will work nicely as part of the innovative new White House approach to Congressional outreach. Or maybe they threatened to fire the chattier staffers. Oh, wait - they don't work for the White House!

It’s extremely rare for administration officials to circumvent Republican leadership and work directly with congressional committee aides. But the House Judiciary Committee has some of the most experienced staffers when it comes to immigration policy.

So "extremely rare" that I am sure it did not happen here.

That said, there is no question the roll-out was botched both within the Executive Branch and with Congress:

GOP leaders received no advance warning or briefings from the White House or Judiciary staff on what the executive order would do or how it would be implemented — briefings they still had not received as of Sunday night. Leaders including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) only saw the final language when reporters received it Friday night, according to multiple Hill sources.

Rather, Republicans on the Hill spent the entire weekend scrambling to find out what was going on, who was involved and how it was that they were caught so flat-footed.

"Their coordination with the Hill was terrible," said one senior GOP source on the Hill, who seemed flabbergasted that congressional Republicans didn’t receive talking points from the White House on the executive order until late Saturday night, about 24 hours after President Donald Trump signed it. “We didn't see the final language until it was actually out.”

My guess is that the earnest toilers amongst the House staff were not a lot more looped-in than their bosses and were probably as surprised as anyone by the final product, and especially by the rushed manner of its presentation. Just for example, it is inconceivable to me that anyone with the Washington experience of these staffers would have encouraged a roll-out plan that excluded input from DHS, State, the Senate and the House. Yet here we are.

My guess - the staffers were lent out as sherpas to smooth the trail and the House leadership figured the heavy hitters would be brought in as the issue ripened. Instead, the White House surprised everyone with this own-goal.

Trump is working the fine line between "autocracy" and "autocrazy". Sad!

Strange the MSM did not inform us of the details surrounding the Australian "deal," jimmyk. Opposition, indeed, and more evidence that the media will die out because of its refusal to provide real information.
As Insty sez, "More and faster, please!"

Those are some serious fishermen, and that must be a beautiful lake you're on Beasts. Those flat bottom boats scare me and the speed they use to get there first scares me as well. I remember watching a tournament on TV where the winner drove his boat 100 miles each way on the Saint Lawrence River to fish for 2 hrs in Lake Ontario, before he had to leave and make the return 100 mile trip in time for weigh in. People said he'd never get good weather 4 days in a row or his boat would break down. The guy won it!

By the same token, Mexico is one of the leading consumer countries for our exports. But at what price?

NAFTA set up this fiat currency boondoggle (thank you Congress and Bill Clinton).

President Trump knows it isn't healthy and wants to re-engineer our relationship with Metziko.

Not easy for cheap labor junkies in the US and poverty exporting junkies in Metziko Seetay.

The prevailing NAFTA model is weak and failing us by eroding our sovereignty. The proponents and "advocates" are using "anti-racist" jargon to shame legislators into maintaining the failing order. We are borrowing our way into insolvency to sustain it.

President Trump isn't bargaining with Metziko. He's already conducted his post mortem on NAFTA and is INFORMING Nee-ay-to Cabron that his rich uncle en el norte is dead.

Once Sessions and Mnuchin are confirmed and enacting their 100 day missions, POTUS will have both his boots on. And the walkin' he'll do will affect Metziko in two profound ways---

1) DOJ will begin de-infesting the "immigrant rights" roach motels in sanctuary cities, deporting leadership where relevant and indicting American-led "non-profits" for racketeering under RICO. Ruh roh. (Where have all the EBT cards gone? Long time passing? When will they ever learn?)

2) Treasury will begin refinancing portions of the American long term debt (the total amount that includes unfunded liabilities--- so that POTUS can reduce the federal workforce without encumbering the full weight of those pensions over the next 30 years).

It takes a lot of gummint paper pushers to keep NAFTA enforced and bean counted.

Both actions cut *support* of the cheap labor and *net cash outflow* for the sake of having an export market in Metziko.

There are other ways to situate our manufacturing base and to establish sane market export policies while protecting national sovereignty.

The gravy in all of this is that Metziko is cut out of its role as setting domestic policy in the US by flooding us with illegal voters and welfare dependents.

In addition, our schools get to STOP being subsidy centers for non-english speaking migratory squatters (if Devos does one thing I hope it will be that the "pay-for-attendance" racket is eliminated 100%.)

Metziko isn't the only duck in this bilge puddle--- teacher unions will suffer too, hence the "anti-racism" malarkey we hear like claptrap coming from public school personnel, most of who know *diddly* about what racism is and how it works, and how they benefit from the real deal that it is today, but which gets ZERO coverage or analysis.

Levin was all over the NEA ties to Murkowski and Collins last night, pointing out not only the direct money contributions but also the risk of them sending protestors to every precinct if they vote a way the organization doesn't like, i.e. school choice.

Your guess would be in error, CH. My aural universe is pretty narrow. Probs 80% classical and the rest guitar oriented jazz, bluegrass, and some country stars from 20+ years ago. Never listen to contemporary music on the radio.

The problem with California is there is no separate verification of citizenship on voter registration, said Charles Bell, Jr., a partner with California-based Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP, a law firm that specializes in election law. Applicants can check a box affirming they are citizens, and this is not checked against any other government database such as federal immigration records.(recent FX report)

Registration does not require proof of citizenship. Drivers license form states you must be a citizen to vote but also does not ask for proof. Remember the man last year who had multiple licenses and voted multiple times, even using his dead mother's name and his brother who lived in another state? It's a crime with no obvious traces to find.

1. "On BuzzFeed’s livestream, one of the men could be seen bleeding from his face." Fairly accurate accounting of how it went down last night. We live 1.8 miles from campus. Heard the fireworks. A WTF moment given the A's and Giants aren't in season yet.

Crime scene photos in article. Rubber bullets were used. Good to see that. The next outbreak needs to have a SWAT presence, snipers on rooftops. Lethal force is all these "Antifa" clowns understand. (After Kent State the "movement" saw the wisdom of non-violence and "underground" anarchist violence).

Telegraph Avenue leads right up to the main gate of the university. Here's some video:

Some of my neighbors with kids at Cal reporting that the campus is very tense over what happened.

Although most of these kids are snowflakes they are not anti-authoritarian bombthrowers.

We're waiting to hear something from Rudolf the Red Nosed Napolitano today. There are BILLION$ in research contracts with Cal funded by the US government.... POTUS has much leverage, especially through Dept of Energy.

Faculty dude I know is an astrophysicist at Cal, and very anti-Trump. He's spouting off on FB this morning (lives with Mrs Kid's best gal pal). Is sounding agitated and rabid as to how this is all POTUS' fault for winning the election.

He's subsidized in his Antarctica-based research on climate change through DOEn. The chicken coop is getting very rattled.

Breaking: many sirens going off due south toward the University. I'm heading out in two hours to run errands. Will poke around.

"Is it just me--but having women sportswriters and newscasters on football seems as preposterous as having men report on synchronized swimming and womens figure skating?"

No, Clarice. It isn't just you.

They cannot narrate anything in a believable way. It's about as absurd as an obese fast-food dependent male hosting a cooking show with "guest chefs".

========= The rest is a rant. ;)======
The feminization of football is absurd.

Media access to players and player acquiescence to media "brand building" ploys is part of that trojan horse.

NFL has become a vanity-driven league.

There are a couple of sideline reporters who are female, Michelle Tafoya comes to mind, that have been doing this for awhile and have not been promoted to game-calling and color commentary. Smart move.

The NFL Network is insane with putting females on-screen with veteran players. The weird thing is they are all Me Again types and they are the *lead* anchors on much of the Network's taped programming.

All in the NFL's false quest to get females interested in football. Got news for em: one is either into football or not. Seeing a female broadcaster isn't why females watch football or football media. Fantasy leagues, betting, and love of the game are three competition-related reasons why females watch the game. Saw a poll 5 years ago (but what do those really mean anyways.)

having women sportswriters and newscasters on football seems as preposterous as having men report on synchronized swimming and womens figure skating

Agreed, Clarice. It happened this past year with baseball too. ESPN and other sports programmers have inexplicably gone PC and alienated their core audiences. I guess I've gotten used to female reporters interviewing players, but they shouldn't be allowed in locker rooms as a matter of basic decency, and as "color commentators" they lack credibility. The baseball lady ESPN hired had never actually played baseball, after all (I think fast-pitch softball, maybe).

Beast--read his Tweet series I linked to this morning. Understandable that he's signing off. Glenn Reynolds left after his rather benign Tweet about continuing to drive if protestors block your roadway set off a firestorm.

I've shared several times that my husband, teaching college and newly-naturalized (23 Nov 1963), went to the local fire dept. to register to vote in CA. Because of his foreign place of birth, he needed to show his citizenship papers. Even though he had provided the name of the college where he taught, the registrar gave him a copy of the Declaration of Independence to demonstrate his ability to read.

The times have certainly changed. Today in CA, a utility bill suffices as proof of residence and identity and challenging a person's literacy could provoke a demonstration and law suit.

As the preezy himself said this past election cycle:

OBAMA: Not true. And the reason is, first of all, when you vote, you are a citizen yourself. And there is not a situation where the voting rolls somehow are transferred over and people start investigating, et cetera. The sanctity of the vote is strictly confidential in terms of who you voted for. If you have a family member who maybe is undocumented, then you have an even greater reason to vote

"Today in CA, a utility bill suffices as proof of residence and identity and challenging a person's literacy could provoke a demonstration and law suit."

Mail theft is a cottage industry in CA. Of course, the Left is calling it a "victimless crime." (Code for "what's this got to do with me? Let em go!")

Locked mail boxes are essential out here. The PGE font on utility bills is easy to copy and paste.

The IRS and Social Security are *still* printing full SS numbers on correspondence that goes into physical mailboxes.

Mrs. Kid got hit for identity theft through the IRS system. Finally got her to get identity theft protection.

It's out of control. The voter fraud investigation will bring in some quality intel on the real issue: identity theft. (How much cash is that "binness" contributing to organized EmoCrat crime and the Grand Jihad?)

"I'm probably just weird but I think you should have the best person for the job do it, no matter if they are male or female."

As one who's hired and fired, "best" was never a useful umbrella criterion, especially in PC environments such as public agencies or public education mills (universities).

It's even less useful in specialized areas like professional sports broadcasting and sports journalism.

In the professional sport of football, I not only tune out female TV commentators; I tune out male commentators (like the pathetic Bob "Comrade" Costas--- who have never strapped on a helmet and a set of pads in 110 degree heat and attempted to play defense against somebody outweighing them by 40 pounds with a 10 yard head of steam behind them.

Broadcasting and writing are not so specialized that they cannot be done by neophytes, the inexperienced or the experienced-deprived. It is the content, especially in a professional sport, which is affected by their dearth of experience.

I take issue with having male broadcast teams calling WNBA games. They know basketball. But they don't know what it's like to be on a women's team and the winning and losing that goes on for them in all aspects of the game.

How does a male coach of a WNBA team deal with locker room dynamics when he can't exactly "hang out" there?

Nothing wrong with biological separation in the search for excellence where it just makes sense.

I’ll be that Trump already has FBI and/or Homeland security agents silently engaged in collecting evidence sufficient to roll up not just the perps, but the funders, and, through RICO statutes, even more, including some supposed NGOs and ostensibly political agents.

I'm probably just weird but I think you should have the best person for the job do it, no matter if they are male or female.

Sure. Since the NFL is all-male, and outside the NFL the game is played almost entirely by men, the likelihood that the best person for the job is female is slim to none. The men in these roles are almost always former players - for a very good reason.